LRWMA

“Equilla” and James McCracken

In August 2006, I received the following from Lloyd McCraken and I hope by putting his  comments  on the blog, someone will be able to shed some light on this early family:

Doing some genealogy research and came across your web-site info on Wofford Settlement.

Among the original settlers were “Equilla” and James McCracken.  I am researching both McCrackens and have encountered both of them with the Woffords in North Carolina and elsewhere. 
I believe my ancestor is Aquilla McCracken, which I have seen spelled Quilla and Equilla.  Aquilla later moved to Tennessee, Illinois, and Arkansas.

Have seen inter-family marriage of some Woffords and McCrackens later.

Other than being in Burke County NC and at Wofford Settlement, have found little info to help me trace the relationship of James and Equilla to each other and to the Woffords and their background.

Would you have suggestions on any information source from your area that might be helpful?

Thanks.

Lloyd McCracken, Jr.

1316 Greene 737 Road

Paragould,   AR  72450

Whiskey Production

Val Bucher provided the topic with her posting the following:

In reference to the news on TV last week, regarding Tennessee farmers legally selling 190 proof moonshine to help off-set the extremely high cost of gas these days-perhaps some of our ancestors would get a chuckle about this. It may reinforce their ideas about the "need" for this product. Had our ancestors been allowed to continue their "research" it's possible,theoretically,we could be paying less at the pump. This statement is not intended to minimize the impact of "white lightning" on our families and the decendents of the Lake Russell area.

Misc. Questions and Topics

Please use this post to ask questions about topics not covered on the blog yet and I will then start posts about such new topics!

Site Survey Project

Starting in October 2006, on the third Saturday of each month, we will on a planned grid basis, return to each of the 240 cultural resource sites identified by Pearl and her team during the 80's.  Our purpose will be to provide accurate GPS data for each site, and to report on the site condition.  In addition, we will visit the approximately 160 sites that were found since the 80's effort and will complete the necessary site documentation that is required by the Forest Service to classify and, where required, add these sites to the official database.  We will also spread out and look for any new sites.  This will be a process that will continue for several seasons.  It will guarantee that the Forest Service can use up-to-date GPS data to locate and protect the sites which previously were only located by the best efforts of all involved using topographical maps. 

Pearl's Flowers - 2006

If you think Pearl just spends all her time in the LRWMA, you have not seen her yard.  She and Harlen are incredible gardners and her daughter shared photos of the yard with us.

Click here to see thumbnails, then select one and continue through the rest!

Burial of Ruth and Clayton Smith

The very impressive services for both Ruth and Clayton on Saturday, April 15 and 22, concluded with the burial of both after Clayton's funeral service.  Both services included wonderful testimonials from the children and music loved by both Ruth and Clayton, sung by the family. 

Photos of the burial service are available for viewing by clicking the link below. 

Click here for photos. 

George Clayton Smith

George Clayton Smith, 85, Baldwin, died Saturday, April 15, 2006, at
Northeast Georgia Medical Center.

Mr. Smith was born December 24, 1920, in Banks County to the late Logan Sylvester Smith Sr. and Lena Stephens Smith. He also was preceded in death by his wife, Ruth Brown Smith; two brothers, Logan Sylvester (Happy) Smith Jr. and Bruce Coolidge Smith; and a sister, Isabel Smith Ervin. Mr. Smithwas a retired educator with Lula Elementary, Banks County Elementary and High School, Baldwin Elementary and South Habersham Junior High, with a combined total of 30 years of dedicated service. He was a member of Broad River Baptist Church, deacon and Sunday school teacher. Mr. Smith was a veteran of World War II, having served in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He was
a member of the Habersham Retired Educators Association and former columnist writing "Country at Heart" for The Northeast Georgian.

Survivors include his children, Daniel James Smith, Central, S.C., Rebecca Smith Purcell, Mount Airy, Samuel Clayton Smith, Lynchburg, Va., Philip Mark Smith, Baldwin; two sisters, Annie Ruth Smith Wilbanks and Elizabeth Ostine Smith Wilbanks, both of Baldwin; grandchildren, Abigail, Caleb and
Hannah Purcell, Kendra, Logan, Kayla and Haddon Smith, and Jessica and Addison Smith.

Funeral services will be held 11 a.m. Saturday, April 22, 2006, at Broad River Baptist Church with the Rev. Connie Berry and the Rev. Terry Purcell officiating. Burial will follow in the Harmony Baptist Church Cemetery with the Rev. Ray Rhodes officiating.

The family will receive friends from 2 to 4 p.m. and from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, April 21, 2006, at Whitfield Funeral Home, South Chapel, Baldwin.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Lena Stephens Smith Missionary Offering, c/o Broad River Baptist Church, 306 Ferguson Road, Baldwin, GA 30511.

Those wishing to express condolences to the family may do so online by visiting www.whitfieldfuneralhomes.com.

Whitfield Funeral Home, South Chapel, Baldwin
The Times, Gainesville, Ga., April 19, 2006

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Dear All:
My Father(George Clayton Smith) went to Heaven at approximately 4:58am this morning, April 15, 2006.
He was still in ICU and had begun experiencing more and more complications from the surgery.

We were called to come in when they expected him to possibly pass in the next few hours.  We immediately started to the hospital, but he passed about 15 minutes after the call to us was made.  We arrived about 30 minutes after his passing.  Since he was in ICU we could not stay with him round the clock, and we were trying to get ready for Mother's funeral today.  But we know that God planned it all, so this was His perfect will.  The nurse said his passing was very easy.  His blood pressure had been dropping, and he was unconscious before he passed.

We announced Daddy's passing today at Mother's(Ruth Brown Smith) funeral.  But we decided to not bury Mother today but to bury Daddy and Mother together at the same time after Daddy's funeral next Saturday.

Daddy's visitation is next Fri, April 21, 2-4pm and 6-9pm at Whitfield Funeral Home, South Chapel, in Baldwin, GA.  Daddy's funeral is set for 11am next Sat., April 22, at Broad River Baptist Church on highway 105 south of Baldwin, GA.  Burial of both Daddy and Mother will be in the Harmony Baptist Church Cemetery on highway 441 south of Baldwin, GA.

After Daddy's passing, I again read John 11:25-27 at the foot of his bed, just as I did for Mother.

Daddy and Mother, as they wished, were ushered very close together into the presence of the great God and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, less than one week apart.

In CHRIST, the Resurrection and the Life, and our eternal Hope
Danny Smith
Adoring son of Clayton and Ruth Brown Smith

John 11:25-26 -- 'Jesus said..., I am the resurrection, and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.  And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.'

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Update:  April 13:

Please pray for Daddy(Clayton Smith).  He has moved the most yet so far, but his doctor says that his liver and kidneys still aren't working, and this makes his condition extremely serious and life-threatening.  His liver not working properly has caused the sedation to stay in his system much longer than otherwise.
We need to pray for Daddy a lot.  Please pray that God will see fit to spare his life.  I need your prayers too at this time. 

Thanks for your prayers.

In CHRIST,
Danny Smith
Adoring son on Clayton and Ruth Brown Smith
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Jeremiah 33:3 -- 'Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.'

Clayton Smith has been hospitalized since before Ruth’s death last Saturday. We will keep this post updated as we are advised of his condition.  Please feel free to add any comments to this posting about Clayton just as was done so nicely for Ruth. 

April 10, 2006:

Dear All:  Please pray for my Father, Clayton Smith. I just talked to his doctor. He is still not waking up from sedation probably because his liver isn't working properly.  Neither are his kidneys.  Please pray specifically for his liver and his kidneys, that they will begin to work properly, and that he will wake up completely from the sedation.  He is not in a coma, but is in a very heavy sleep.  He responds to some stimuli, like squinting in bright lights and opening his eyes when you talk sometimes; sometimes he also moves his arms.  The sedation has been turned off for over a day. 
Please, please, please pray for my Father.
Thank you so much for your prayers for all of us.
In CHRIST,
Danny Smith

Jeremiah 33:3 - "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.'

Ruth Brown Smith

RUTH BROWN SMITH

4/12/2006 (Publication Date)
April 3, 1923 - April 8, 2006

BALDWIN, GA - Ruth Brown Smith, age 83, of Baldwin, GA, died Saturday, Arpil 8, 2006 at the Northeast Georgia Medical Center.

Mrs. Smith was born on April 3, 1923 in Habersham County, GA to the late Randol and Lonie Lawrence Brown. She was also preceded in death by sisters, Shirley Day, Selma DiGloria, Mildred Morris and an infant sister,as well as brothers, Roy Brown, Herman Brown, and Hugh Brown.

Mrs. Smith was a 1942 graduate of Baldwin High School and a graduate of Toccoa Falls Institute with a 2 year business degree. Upon her graduation she was bookkeeper at the Toccoa Falls Institute from 1944 to 1951. Mrs. Smith was bookkeeper for the Jones Lumber Co., Huntsville, AL from 1951 to 1952 and was pricing clerk for John Deere Plow Co., Chamblee, GA, from 1952 to 1956. She was retired from the Habersham County Board of Education having done secretarial work at South Habersham Junior High School from 1974 to 1989. Mrs. Smith was a member of the Habersham Retired Educators Association. She was a member of the Broad River Baptist Church.

Survivors include the following: her husband of 49 years, George Clayton Smith, Baldwin, GA; her children: Daniel James Smith, Central, SC; Rebecca Smith Purcell, Mt.. Airy, GA; Samuel Clayton Smith, Lynchburg, VA; Philip Mark Smith, Baldwin, GA; sister: Emma Brown Patten, Lakeland, GA; brother: Bruce Brown, Mt. Airy, GA; grandchildren: Abigail, Caleb and Hannah Purcell; Kendra, Logan, Kayla, and Haddon Smith; Jessica and Addison Smith.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 15, 2006 from the Broad River Baptist Church with Rev. Terry Purcell, Rev. Connie Berry, and Rev. Ray Rhodes officiating. Burial will follow in the Harmony Baptist Church Cemetery.

The family will receive friends at the Whitfield Funeral Home, South Chapel, Baldwin, from 2 to 4 and 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, April 14, 2006. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Gideon's International, PO Box 195, Baldwin, GA 30511 or to Broad River Baptist Church, 306 Ferguson Road, Baldwin, GA 30511.

Those wishing to express condolences to the family may do so online by visiting www.whitfieldfuneralhomes.com

Arrangements are in the care of Whitfield Funeral Home, South Chapel, Baldwin, Georgia.

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Ruth provided a wonderful story about her life in the LRWMA which is in the book Life Along the Middle Broad River.  To read Ruth's story, go to:  Ruth Brown Smith and Randol Brown

Dear All:
Mother(Ruth Brown Smith) went to heaven at 5:29pm today, April 8, 2006.  All her children were present at the event.  We all experienced a great peace as we saw her draw her last breath and realized she was at that moment entering the presence of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.  I read John 11:25-27 at the foot of her bed just after she passed.  We praise God for the great reunion she has had with so many she knew and for the joy she is currently and will forever be experiencing.  The event was really and truly a time of rejoicing for us all.  We wish we could see what she sees now, but we know we will too in time.  Upon entering the presence of God, the natural beauty of Mother's face shown through as the suffering of this life ceased.

We visited Daddy's bedside again after Mother's passing. He is still under sedation.  He is slowly progressing, but with kidneys that are not yet working properly.  Please continue to pray for him.

Mother's funeral will be at Broad River Baptist Church on Sat. April 15, the day before Resurrection Day.
Visitation will be on Friday, April 14 at Whitfield Funeral Home in Baldwin, Georgia.  Specific visitation times and the time of the funeral have not yet been set.

Daddy will not be able to go to the funeral and will likely not even know of Mother's passing until sometime afterwards.  Please pray for us as we learn from God how to tell him.  His doctor says that telling him too early could be detrimental to his health in the state he is in.
Please pray for us and for Daddy's complete healing.

Love in CHRIST,whose lovely face my Mother has already seen,

Danny Smith,
Adoring son of Ruth Brown and Clayton Smith

John 11:25-26 -- 'Jesus said... I am the resurrection, and
the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.